Ablaze Curtana of the Star
by Hawkflight7
Summary: It's all intertwined, each and every fate; but what will you do with this knowledge? If you can do anything at all? Part 1 in Accomplice: Rise


**Ablaze Curtana of the Star**

 **Summary: It's all intertwined, each and every fate; but what will you do with this knowledge? If you can do anything at all? Part 1 in Accomplice: Rise**

 **For The Weird Prompt Thing: Revelations [Daily Speed-writing Competition]**

"That was great, Rise-chan!"

"Another fabulous job!"

"Keep at it!"

"Thank you, everyone!" she shouted back with an overenthusiastic laugh. "Let's make the next shoot just as terrific!"

Another round of support came from the workers as she skipped off with a bright grin. Inoue's especially rang in her ears: "Great job, you were perfect! See you in half an hour! Don't go too far, Rise!"

She appreciated it, she really did. But... perfect? Was she really perfect? For her fans, maybe. But for her? Every day the pressure on her seemed to increase to get better and better. To outshine the competition for the good of the company, rake in the cash through commercials and shoots; all by being doused in makeup, hair pulled and twisted, to plaster on a sparkling smile. She took dancing and singing lessons as well, to become the number one idol. But sometimes when one of her commercials came up on the tv... was that really her? Was she perfect? Or was that Risette, the idol?

She let out a sigh after turning a corner; out of sight of the workers now she stopped skipping, walking normally down the alley. It was a question that kept popping into her mind recently. If she really was perfect Risette or if it was just a facade she had learned to hide the true her behind.

There was only one way to find out, and she had been debating it for awhile-

"Why hello there, girlie. You look troubled."

" _Oh_!" Rise stopped in her path, turning to see an old woman hidden beneath a plump brown coat, sitting behind an upturned crate. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." She plastered on her smile once again. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

The woman looked too old to be living out on the street, but considering the ragged state of her coat there no evidence to suggest she had a home to go to. There were uneven patches sewn on in places on the coat that must have torn open over the years.

"Mm." Rise dug into her pockets for a moment. "Here," she said, offering up a mix of paper money and coins. "Treat yourself to something nice."

The woman seemed to stare blindly at the money for a moment, then her gaze rested on Rise. "I couldn't possibly just take this. Let me give you something in return." Her hand slipped into the darkness of her coat, before she pulled out a deck of cards. "I use to be a fortune teller in my youth. Would you be interested in a fortune?"

A fortune? She had never gotten her fortune read to her before. It sounded fun, and like it was the only way the woman would accept her money; besides, this way it could be a fair exchange in the terms of the woman. "That would be splendid. Thank you."

Rise pulled up a smaller crate nearby to sit on, watching as the woman set the pack of cards down in front of her. "Go ahead and shuffle them, dear. Once you're done pick out five cards and lay them next to eachother in an arc, from left to right."

"Okay," Rise said, starting to get excited as she picked up the deck. She didn't know much about tarot cards, but there seemed to be nearly a hundred in the deck; minus a dozen or two. She wouldn't be able to know the real number without counting them so she just shuffled the cards like the woman had told her.

Once she was done she went ahead and picked out five cards, taking one at a time and setting it down just like she had been instructed to. When the woman asked her to flip over the one on the left the card had an intricate design on it and was named-

"The Three of Wands."

"What's it mean?" Rise asked the woman who was staring intently at the cards lined in front of her, as if she could see what each card was already.

"It's in the present position. It represents where you are right now in life. I'm sure you're familiar with your current situation or you wouldn't be asking the question you were when shuffling these cards. Your question has to do with the future though, and from what I can see these cards have a lot to say about it."

"Like what?" Rise was equally intrigued and curious now. Could these cards really help her with making a decision for her future?

The woman flipped over the next card. "Present desires. The Three of Swords. You are at a crossroads, trying to make a decision that will effect you and many others. But, I believe you have already decided what you're going to do. The cards do not lie, but with this one comes a warning."

"A warning?" Rise was hanging on to every word now.

"Yes. Whether you choose to stay on your current path or not, it is going to be painful."

"Huh?"

The lady didn't seem to register her sudden distress, simply flipping the next card over. "The Devil. Appropriate place for it, really. It's always unexpected."

"It's evil and causes pain, right?" She was trying to figure out what the lady had been reffering to a moment ago.

"Oh no, dear. Not always. The Devil card itself represents the pain and delight of giving into temptation. It simply means that you will be tempted by something and may or may not give in to it. And with where it is positioned, it's for the future. The Three of Swords represented your present desires. Which would mean..." The woman looked up to her. "There is something currently in you're life causing you pain."

Rise blinked, as a wave of understanding crashed over her. The crossroads the lady had spoken about, all of it. "Please, go on."

The woman gave a nod of her head, flipping over the fourth card. "The Two of Cups, for the immediate future." The woman smiled at her. "You're going to become very close to somebody soon. Possibly a romantic interest. The Two of Cups mainly represents a single person you form a deep bond with, like a lover," the woman added with a laugh to which Rise blushed softly.

This was starting to get to the subject that most people would ask about when wanting to know about the future.

Still smiling the woman calmly flipped the fifth and last card. "Your outcome is the Wheel of Fortune. It means that the outcome is uncertain, there are many ways it could end and you should think it over carefully before coming to a decision. Your fate is closely tied with many others, and you will be the deciding factor for many of their own futures as well as your own."

 **prompt: tarot cards**


End file.
